Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Electoral Clientelism
- Part II Relational Clientelism
- 3 Citizens and Relational Clientelism
- 4 Income and Vulnerability
- 5 Declared Support
- 6 Requesting Benefits
- Part III Extensions
- Appendix A Description of Qualitative Fieldwork
- Appendix B Description of Surveys
- Appendix C Signaling Model of Declared Support
- Appendix D Regression Tables for Declared Support
- Appendix E Regression Tables for Requesting Benefits
- Appendix F Regression Tables for Comparative Chapter
- Bibliography
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
3 - Citizens and Relational Clientelism
from Part II - Relational Clientelism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 December 2018
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Electoral Clientelism
- Part II Relational Clientelism
- 3 Citizens and Relational Clientelism
- 4 Income and Vulnerability
- 5 Declared Support
- 6 Requesting Benefits
- Part III Extensions
- Appendix A Description of Qualitative Fieldwork
- Appendix B Description of Surveys
- Appendix C Signaling Model of Declared Support
- Appendix D Regression Tables for Declared Support
- Appendix E Regression Tables for Requesting Benefits
- Appendix F Regression Tables for Comparative Chapter
- Bibliography
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
Summary
Chapter 3 distills the logic and mechanisms by which citizens help to sustain relational clientelism.Although these ongoing exchange relationships are relatively resilient to many challenges facing electoral clientelism, their survival is imperiled by the possibility that citizens or politicians may engage in opportunistic defection.Citizens may renege on their vote promises, and politicians may renege on their promises of material benefits.Voters often undertake purposive actions to mitigate this dual credibility problem, and thereby fortify relational clientelism. Vulnerability frequently motivates clients to do so, as clientelist relationships provide an important form of informal insurance when the state fails to provide an adequate social safety net.This theoretical chapter examines two citizen mechanisms—declared support and requesting benefits. Building on a signaling model, it examines how citizens declare support to transmit meaningful information about the credibility of their vote promises. In addition, it elaborates the logic by which citizens can screen against politicians who are unlikely to follow through on promises of benefits beyond election campaigns.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Votes for SurvivalRelational Clientelism in Latin America, pp. 69 - 83Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018